Chapter 9: The Spirit Realm (Part 2)

 Chapter 9: The Spirit Realm (Part 2)

Li Dongze carefully chose his words and said, "The Spirit Realm is a supernatural power that cannot be explained by science. Despite our constant efforts to analyze and understand it, we still lack a complete understanding of it. The Spirit Realm exists within reality but transcends it, and only chosen individuals can enter it."

"And the way to be chosen..." he took a sip of his drink and smiled, "You should have experienced it."

"Is it the character card?" Zhang Yuanqing responded at the right moment.

Li Dongze nodded slightly, "Yes, it's called a character card. Those who obtain a character card will unlock trial missions, and by completing these trials, they can obtain a corresponding profession with its skills and attributes. The mechanism by which the Spirit Realm selects walkers has not been fully understood yet, and the distribution of character cards is not fixed. Sometimes, it appears directly in your body; sometimes you might pick it up on the roadside; or sometimes you might accidentally click on a link online..."

"Completing trial missions is just the beginning. Spirit Realm walkers who want to level up and become more powerful must keep accepting missions and entering the Spirit Realm. However, don't worry, the frequency of missions is not too high, and not all Spirit Realm scenes will be life-threatening. On the contrary, some Spirit Realms can be quite interesting. For example, as a level 3 scout, I have entered the Spirit Realm every month in the past two years, but solo Spirit Realms are only once every three months, and I almost died in one of them. The rest of the time, I participate in multi-player Spirit Realms, which are relatively safer and more enjoyable. Hehe, if you want to gain superpowers, there's always a price to pay."

Li Dongze paused, giving Zhang Yuanqing time to ask questions.

"So, it's similar to game instances?" Zhang Yuanqing offered his understanding.

Li Dongze smiled and said, "I enjoy talking to young people like you because you have strong comprehension and actively engage in new things. Yes, it's like playing a game, and the Spirit Realm is like an instance. Some instances are solo types, while others require teamwork or involve competition. The solo instances are the most dangerous, with the highest mortality rate."

"Why do solo instances have the highest mortality rate?" Zhang Yuanqing asked curiously.

Li Dongze pondered for a moment and replied, "In multi-player Spirit Realms, you may encounter Spirit Realm walkers from other professions, but in solo instances, you will face the Spirit Realm of your own profession. For example, as a scout, the extraordinary abilities of this profession include insight, tracking, and analysis."

"My three solo instances involved playing the role of a detective solving a case, chasing criminals in the jungle, and surviving in the wilderness. Additionally, the Spirit Realm instances for each profession at the extraordinary and saint stages are different."

"As a Night Wanderer, my instances involve the supernatural, and thank goodness there are multi-player instances; otherwise, I would have been scared out of my wits in the Spirit Realm. Do you think the saint stage instances in the Spirit Realm will be different?" Zhang Yuanqing nodded while listening.

"Is Lei Yibing's disappearance related to the Spirit Realm?" Zhang Yuanqing asked solemnly.

He needed confirmation from an official source to verify his conjecture. If Yibing had entered the Spirit Realm, things might not be as bad.

Li Dongze thought for a moment and said, "After Lei Yibing's mysterious disappearance, the official personnel at Hangcheng Police Station took over the case. Their judgment is that Lei Yibing has died in the Spirit Realm."

Zhang Yuanqing's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but feel anxious and panicked. "Why?" he asked.

Li Dongze explained, "Because the duration has been too long. Normal Spirit Realm instances, at the extraordinary level at least, last for a few hours to a day or two. But Lei Yibing has been missing for four days. The extraordinary level corresponds to levels 1 to 3."

"What about above the extraordinary level?" Zhang Yuanqing inquired.

"I'm not entirely sure, but there should be instances with longer durations," Li Dongze replied.

Maybe Yibing is a powerful Spirit Realm walker... Zhang Yuanqing could only console himself with such thoughts.

Regarding Yibing's disappearance, at this stage, Zhang Yuanqing realized that he couldn't be of much help, neither in terms of abilities nor insights. In comparison, joining the official organization and then rescuing himself seemed to be the most important things to do.

"... By the way, before introducing you to the official organization, there's something very important," Li Dongze cleared his throat after taking a sip of his drink. "What's your morality value?"

"60 points, the initial value," Zhang Yuanqing honestly replied.

Li Dongze nodded, "For newcomers like you, the morality value is the biggest pit, you must remember that."

"Why do you say that?" Zhang Yuanqing couldn't hide his curiosity.

"Do you remember the note below the morality value?" Li Dongze asked.

"I remember, it asks me to be a good person..." Zhang Yuanqing almost made a dramatic gesture like Andy Lau (a famous actor).

Li Dongze said seriously, "The initial value of the morality value is 60. If it goes below this value, the Spirit Realm's punishment mechanism will be triggered. It will disclose your location to all the Spirit Realm walkers in the same city and issue a mission to eliminate you."

... Zhang Yuanqing was dumbfounded and blurted out, "So, does that mean I can never do anything bad in my entire life?"

Well, I'm not saying I want to do bad things, but being a saint is too tiring. Also, what are the criteria for measuring morality? If doing some crafts or drawing explicit pictures is considered a loss of morality, does that mean he's doomed in his life?

Li Dongze laughed, seemingly enjoying the sight of a newcomer's expression like this, and explained slowly, "Don't be so nervous. Based on our observations, Spirit Realm walkers will have 1 to 5 morality points deducted for theft, robbery, and injuring others, depending on the severity of the situation. Killing will deduct 10 morality points. If there are serious consequences, such as multiple deaths or injuries, the corresponding morality points will be deducted according to the situation."

"As for some private moral losses, they won't affect your morality value. Additionally, the morality value can be both deducted and accumulated. That's why it's advised for you to be a good person."

This mechanism does seem like an intentional effort to restrain Spirit Realm walkers, but why would the Spirit Realm want to constrain them? Morality and law are creations of humans to maintain order, and in the natural world, apart from humans, other living beings don't need such concepts.

In other words, unless the Spirit Realm takes a pro-human stance, the existence of the morality value seems somewhat unreasonable. After all, the Spirit Realm is a supernatural phenomenon.

Zhang Yuanqing instinctively feels that this restriction is unreasonable, but since Li Dongze didn't explain further, it means that he is also unclear about the reason behind it. From their previous conversation, it is evident that the official organization's understanding of the Spirit Realm is limited.

Zhang Yuanqing suddenly realized, "I understand now. No wonder it's such a big pit for newcomers. So, how do you accumulate morality value?"

Newcomers often use their superpowers to do things they couldn't do before, such as seeking wealth. However, many quick money-making methods are illegal and are written in the criminal law. Zhang Yuanqing also wonders if supporting financially disadvantaged young women would decrease his morality value in the Spirit Realm's definition, considering it might be viewed as either a private moral loss or a violation of the law.

"The question Zhang Yuanqing didn't dare to ask, as everyone wasn't familiar yet, not wanting to leave a bad impression in the future leader's mind.

"Accumulating moral value is as simple as reducing it, just do good deeds. In fact, many evil organizations' spiritual practitioners are enthusiastic about charity and donations because it is the fastest way to accumulate moral value. With enough money, they can kill without restraint." Li Dongze sneered.

"It's quite ironic, isn't it? You never know what kind of people are behind those who do charity. Even more ironic is that human life can be measured with money. This is the reality, both in the mortal world and in the spiritual realm.

"Furthermore, moral values are not deducted when spiritual practitioners fight against each other."

After Zhang Yuanqing began to digest this information, Li Dongze continued:

"Now, let's talk about the official organization.

"The official organization we belong to is called the 'Five Elements Alliance,' composed of five major forces: the 'Hundred Flowers Society,' the 'White Tiger Army,' the 'Red Fire Gang,' the 'Water God Palace,' and the 'Central Court.' These five forces represent five professions: Wood Spirits, Scouts, Fire Masters, Water Spirits, and Earth Monsters."

Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but silently complain in his mind: "Why is the official organization full of monsters and demons?"

"Besides the Five Elements Alliance, there are several other organizations with official backgrounds. I'll send you the information about them later," said Li Dongze as he fumbled for his wine glass.

"The five major organizations within the Five Elements Alliance formed an alliance only in the last twenty years. Before that, they operated independently, and their relationships were not harmonious. This involves the principles of the Five Elements and the differences in characteristics among the professions," he continued.

Taking a sip of his drink, Li Dongze shrugged and said, "Let's take the 'Hundred Flowers Society' as an example. They are a group of extreme environmentalists and members of the Animal Protection Association. God, they even tried to push for a rule at the headquarters of the Five Elements Alliance to ban members from eating dog meat. They have gone overboard, and every time I see their pathological obsession with animal welfare, I can't help but want to kick their butts with leather shoes."

In the following conversation, Li Dongze strongly criticized the four other professions within the Five Elements Alliance, leaving Zhang Yuanqing with a clearer understanding of the other organizations. For example, the impulsive and action-oriented Red Fire Gang, the Water God Palace with its gloomy character and a penchant for cultivating viruses and bacteria, and the Central Court engaged in real estate and mining development.

Li Dongze summarized, "Only our White Tiger Army's scouts are wise, calm, and decisive. It's a perfect profession."

Curious, Zhang Yuanqing asked if the other four organizations would agree with this statement. Li Dongze replied in a somewhat playful manner, comparing the spiritual realm to a game server, where different practitioners resemble characters with panels, items, and quests, and different realms are like instances. He further elaborated on the characteristics of the other professions, likening the Red Fire Gang to berserkers, the Water God Palace to water mages, the Hundred Flowers Society to priests and summoners, and the Central Court to a tough and sturdy "MT" (a term often used in gaming for a character who can "tank" or absorb damage).

Zhang Yuanqing couldn't resist making a jest about the value of the scout's "eyes" in the game. Li Dongze, seemingly unamused, threatened playfully that if he were a fire master from the Red Fire Gang, he would have already beaten Zhang Yuanqing.

Apologizing quickly, Zhang Yuanqing acknowledged the joke and the atmosphere between the two became more harmonious. Li Dongze continued by stating that once a scout passed the extraordinary stage, they would possess extremely strong individual combat capabilities, making it a truly perfect profession.

He also mentioned that among the orthodox professions, the "Night Wanderer" is universally recognized as the strongest. This class has powerful assassination abilities, impressive burst damage, and the additional ability to communicate with souls and control corpses.

Li Dongze explained that Night Wanderers are rare, and their scarcity in the Songhai City branch is due to the limited number of Night Wanderer trial realms available in the area. Additionally, the Taiyi Sect in the capital continuously recruits Night Wanderers from all over the country.

Curious about his own profession, Zhang Yuanqing inquired about Night Wanderers and Li Dongze acknowledged the young man's desire for strength. He described the strengths of Night Wanderers in the early extraordinary stage and their diverse and formidable combat skills.

As the conversation shifted, Li Dongze naturally asked about Zhang Yuanqing's profession, expressing his hope that he wasn't a fire master, as he disliked rude and impulsive young individuals.

Please note that the above conversation is a fictional text and not a real conversation or situation.